1st time visitor to New York

My Husband %26amp; I wil be travelling to America for the first time in September, We are from Australia and have got a week in New York from 25th September till 01st October.

Can someone tell us where is the best places to see real American lifestyle? We are also suprised at how much it is to stay there compared to other places we are staying in America, are we looking at the wrong places, We are looking at the Chapman New York which rates resonably well on tripadvisor.

1st time visitor to New York

Chapman New York?

Is that a town? I can%26#39;t seem to find it on a map.

And it isn%26#39;t a hotel in NYC that I%26#39;ve heard of.

1st time visitor to New York

Sorry had wrong hotel name We are looking at staying at the Royalton Hotel

In addition to all the touristy things in Manhattan, I suggest you spend a little bit of time outside Manhattan. New York City is five boroughs, there are over 8 million people here. 75% of New York City lives off the island of Manhattan.

Manhattan has alot of luxury highrise residences, corporate residences, and hotels, office buildings, and upper ';upper middle class'; neighborhoods. Yes, it is the real NYC as seen on TV but it isn%26#39;t where the more ';typical'; or average people live.

I always suggest Astoria (Queens), Park Slope (Brooklyn), Arthur Avenue (The Bronx), the area around the Staten Island Ferry Terminal (Staten Island) to see a little bit more.

New York is alot of great neighborhoods and it is critically important that you find the restaurants where the local people eat and not the restaurants the hotel concierge suggests for the throngs of tourists.

I like the neighborhoods. Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Chelsea, the Village, Harlem. I love to walk and be part of the neighborhoods, talk with the shop owners, etc.

My big advice is to walk wherever you can. The city is wonderful and walking makes you part of it.

It is expensive right now to visit Manhattan. I wish that were not true. But evenso it is the most beautiful city in the world.

If you want to see the ';real American lifestyle';, don%26#39;t stay in NYC. NYC is not very representational of that. Go to other cities, like Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas and St. Louis, and visit their suburbs.

';We are also suprised at how much it is to stay there compared to other places we are staying in America';

In case you don%26#39;t realize this, hotels in London, Paris, Milan, Sydney, Tokyo and other major cities like NYC are more expensive than hotels in the rest of their respective countries.

Another interesting tidbit of information is that NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.

What%26#39;s your budget exactly?

The Royalton is a very nice, well located, TRENDY hotel. You can certainly find something cheaper, but perhaps you%26#39;d prefer the trendy vibe. On the same block as the Royalton is also the Sofitel, another nice, popular but less trendy option. You can also find some less expensive hotels that are also trendy. I notice good prices for 6 Columbus on quikbook.com (their pod room is very small, but they have a queen room that would be fine).

There is no one ';real American lifestyle'; just as I%26#39;m sure there is no one Australian lifestyle. What makes NYC so fascinating for most people is the different people, nationalities, lifestyles that all exist in the same place.

*** Sorry had wrong hotel name ***

I just can%26#39;t resist ..... it%26#39;s killing me ..... I%26#39;ve been trying all day to supress the urge but it%26#39;s absolutely killing me now ..... I can%26#39;t take it anymore ..... I have to do it ..... I%26#39;m very ..... very sorry ..... but I have to say it ..... so here goes ..... ';4WONGS DON%26#39;T MAKE IT RIGHT'; !

Oh my gawd ..... I%26#39;m sorry ..... that was pretty bad !!!!

Thank you for that funny reply.... Yes we have heard this a thousand times and we actually still like this much better `than the American express ads that were on TV in Australia.

We have decided against the Royalton as we really don%26#39;t need or want trendy we just want good size rooms, clean rooms %26amp; close to everything, so we will be looking on the net for a hotel. Any suggestions? We will also now need to arrange transfers from the airport? We have been bit hard with dodgey transfers before in China %26amp; in Europe so any suggestions in this area would also be nice..

Thanks again for all the info so far I am really looking forward to this trip I can%26#39;t wait

Wendy

Wendy,

Hotel prices vary widely - what is your budget? It%26#39;s easier for people to give recommendations if they know how much you are prepared to pay for a room.

Yes, NYC accomodation is expensive but everything else is either the same at home or cheaper...so it kind of evens out in the end.

Regarding airport transfers, it depends: into which airport are you flying? If JFK, the easiest thing to do is take a taxi. The fare is a fixed $45, plus any tolls and gratuity; figure on $60. They will take you to the door of your hotel. Be sure to follow the signs to the official taxi queue, and only accept a ride from the dispatcher at the official queue. You will be approached by others offering to take you to Manhattan. DO NOT accept their offer, as they are operating illegally and should be avoided.

If you are on an internal (domestic) flight - your post sounds like you may be visiting elsewhere in the US before you arrive in New York - LaGuardia could very well be the airport you use. If so, taxi is again the easiest way into Manhattan. The fare will be less than that from JFK.

If you happen to be flying into Newark Airport, the taxi may not be the best idea. From Newark, it usually is about the same cost to book a car service. Two that are recommended on this forum are www.dial7.com and http://www.strusserslimousineservice.com/

You may come across a van service known as Super Shuttle. Most people on this forum recommend against using Super Shuttle. The money saved is not worth the time wasted. I used them once, and it took me almost three hours to get into Manhattan after midnight. Suffice it to say, I will not be using them again, and I suggest you not use them, either.